The Five-Year Mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise Continues

San Diego, CA - "Space... the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise . Her five-year mission..." continues here! With that phrase-the beginning of one of the most iconic monologues to ever be spoken on a TV series- Star Trek was launched into the pop culture lexicon forever. And while that five-year mission might have only lasted three seasons on television, IDW Publishing and CBS Consumer Products are proud to announce plans to continue the five-year mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise . With the launch of the July-bound Star Trek: Year Four #1 , IDW Publishing returns the iconic cast of the original series to comic books in a series that presents allânew adventures that capture the true spirit of the original series for long-time fans and new readers alike.

Star Trek: Year Four is written by Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between writer David Tischman and features the IDW debut of artist Steve Conley ( Astounding Space Thrills ). The series will follow The Next Generation format of presenting an entire "episode" in every issue. The debut issue begins an all-new exploration for the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise when they discover the Strand-a multi-planet construct of a dead civilization. There they find a brilliant scientist who's obsessed with the Strand's technology. Kirk uncovers the scientist's secret, triggering a revolt amongst his genetic creations, and forcing Kirk to make a hard decision and push the U.S.S. Enterprise into the crossfire.

"I had a tremendous time working on Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between ," states writer Tischman, "but Star Trek: Year Four is my Kobiyashi Maru . Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are the holy trinity of science fiction, and writing for these characters is like drinking tranya at the best Orion lounge in the Quadrant."

"David Tischman has done an amazing job of capturing the feel for the original series," declares his artist, Conley, whose cover art will emulate the style presented by the '60s-era Gold Key Star Trek covers. "David's scripts call for some wonderful sequences and he clearly wasn't hampered by thoughts of production costs. I just hope I can do those scenes justice."

Star Trek: Year Four (Diamond Order Code MAY07 3530) #1, the first full-color, 32-page issue of a six-issue miniseries, debuts in July 2007, and features a cover by Steve Conley and a variant cover by Klingons cover artist Joe Corroney.